


My Sweet Meg

by Sir_Bedevere



Category: Bill The Film
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Family, Fluff, Gen, Humor, POV Outsider, Post-Canon, Slice of Life, Theatre, Trans Character, Trans Female Character, Tudor Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:48:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25689088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sir_Bedevere/pseuds/Sir_Bedevere
Summary: We find ourselves in the Rose Theatre, on the morning of the premier performance of Mr William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing.As usual, Mr Burbage is in a bad mood, Mr Kempe is late, and the only reasonable person that Theo can find in the whole place to help him learn new lines is one Gabriel Montoya.(In truth, Gabriel Montoya isalwaysthe only reasonable person that Theo can find.)
Relationships: Gabriel Montoya & William Shakespeare
Kudos: 13





	My Sweet Meg

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [It Is Not In The Stars To Hold Our Destiny But In Ourselves](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11843148) by [allineedisaquill](https://archiveofourown.org/users/allineedisaquill/pseuds/allineedisaquill). 



> @allineedisaquill - I hope you don't mind that I've put this as inspired by your work - because I was! :) I loved your fic and really wanted to have a little go at one myself. I thought yours was lovely <3 And I think that Gabriel needs endless amounts of love! :)
> 
> @everyone else - if you read this and like it, I insist you read allineedisaquill's fic, which gives our Gabriel a different version of a happy ending!

Mr Burbage was cursing when I got to the theatre. It wasn’t unusual; he was normally in a black mood about something the morning before a new play opened. Usually though, he was in a fury with Mr Shakespeare, who would have failed to prepare his final pages for the company to see even an hour before they took to the stage. 

That morning though, Mr Shakespeare was at Burbage’s side and his usually youthful countenance was similarly vexed. 

“Tylney has no reason to come here, Bill,” Mr Burbage said. “He has already given Much Ado his mark.”

Ah. That explained it. Mr Tylney, Master of the Revels, was the sole man who could remove a work from the stage with a mere flick of his pen, or condemn a company with a nod of his head. Mr Burbage _hated_ him. 

“He’s caused little mischief these past six months,” Mr Shakespeare said. “Let him come. He will find nothing here.”

“Good morning, masters,” I said, when they noticed I had arrived.

“Good morning, Theo,” Mr Shakespeare said. “We are to breakfast. If Gus arrives before we return, please ask him to come to the Dog. And Will, though God alone knows where he is.”

“Yes, sir.”

Mr Burbage was still muttering about Mr Tylney when they left, but surely Mr Shakespeare had spoken true and we had nothing to fear from the man. Much Ado had little to offend, and our papers and permits were in order. There was not a man on the circuit who could rival Mr Burbage for his orderly conduct. 

Besides, I had new lines to learn before noon, a thing of much greater concern to me. The lady Hero was to be the largest role of my apprenticeship so far, and I was determined not to disappoint my mentor, Mr Phillips, or my Claudio, Harry Condell. 

The theatre was peaceful, for indeed it was early still. The new lines had been pushed under my door late the evening before, and I was up with the lark to practice them. I saw no one else once Messers Burbage and Shakespeare had removed themselves, until I came to the little nook that was set aside for the costumes. Here I found Gabriel, who of course had been my target all along. 

“Good morning, Theodore,” she said, a pin held tight between her teeth. “Hold this, will you?”

I did as I was told and held the livery while she tied off a loose thread beneath the arm. Mr Kempe would wear it in the play, and she had made it smaller to fit him. 

“Have you heard Mr Tylney is to come this morning?” I asked. 

“They have been shouting about it for an hour. All the people this side of the river know it, no?”

I laughed and Gabriel winked as she took the livery and put it to hang. My eyes went to my Hero dress, and the mane of golden hair I would wear for my transformation. I would need to prove myself worthy to Gabriel too, for her work would be what made me look the part. 

“Do you want to read the new lines?” Gabriel asked, pulling her own script from her bodice. “He has changed it all again.”

Besides her skills as a dressmaker, Gabriel acted upon the stage. She was in Much Ado to be my Margaret, my sweet Meg, who would by chance help to condemn poor Hero. Such roles were often hers: as sure as Mr Shakespeare wrote the hero for Mr Burbage or the clown for Mr Kempe, so nurses and faithful women were for Gabriel. And she played them well, with her exotic Spanish accent that gave a certain mystery to the simple characters. 

She had a strange but strong friendship with Mr Shakespeare. The other boys said that the Queen herself owed the two of them her life, that they had once helped to unmask a Catholic traitor. I did not know if there was any truth to it, but I did know Mr Shakespeare counted Gabriel as one of his greatest friends and shared his London rooms with her, and that Gabriel exchanged letters with Mr Shakespeare’s wife too. 

And it was Mr Shakespeare of course who insisted that Gabriel be respected and treated as a woman off the stage as well as on, if that is what she desired. No apprentice or hired player had ever stayed with the company long if they could not adhere to that rule. 

As for myself, I valued my apprenticeship with Mr Phillips too much to cause trouble, and besides - Gabriel was a very easy woman to like. In truth, I often forgot why others might see her as strange. And the rest of the company, from Mr Burbage to John our youngest apprentice, seemed to like her too. There were other people like her that one could find all over London, if one knew where to look, but Gabriel had found her home here, where it was safe to be whoever she should wish. Being involved in the theatre, and the anonymity of being just another player on Mr Burbage’s list able to take on the female roles in Mr Shakespeare’s plays, was genius. 

I recited my new lines and Gabriel, who of course knew all of her own already, read in every part so I could learn my new cues. By the ten of the clock, my mouth was dry but I was sure I would not make a fool of myself. Mr Phillips arrived just in time to hear me speak Hero’s final lines, and he nodded his approval. 

“The boy has a quick mind, does he not, madam?” my mentor asked Gabriel.

“Very quick, Gus,” she nodded, and tucked her script away. I glowed with the praise from the both of them. Mr Phillips was not easy to please. 

Before I could tell him that Mr Burbage expected him at breakfast, they returned, in a much better mood than the one they had left in. 

“Gather round, players!” Mr Burbage called. The whole company was not yet present, but those of us who were crowded around. 

“It is our misfortune to be bestowed today with a visit from the Master,” Mr Burbage said. Mr Phillips groaned, and sat down heavily.

“He has already given Much Ado his mark, but we suppose he wishes to vex us today on some whim of his own,” Mr Burbage continued. “We will be gracious hosts, refrain from throwing anything at him or tripping him up, and see him out of the door before the crowd arrives.”

“What does he want?” Harry asked. 

“We have new apprentices since last he came,” Mr Shakespeare said. “And we have been making good coin. He’ll question the boys, check the books and be on his way.”

I looked at Harry. Last time the man came to stick his nose in, we had been subject to his questioning. 

“Harry, Theo - please make sure the boys are ready for his visit,” Mr Shakespeare said. 

As Mr Burbage dismissed us, I saw Mr Shakespeare catch Gabriel’s eye and wink. She smiled back, then removed herself to the workroom. 

When the boys arrived, Harry and I sat them along the stage and stood out of the way of their swinging legs. I couldn’t imagine I’d ever been that young in this place, but I suppose I had. 

“What would the Master want with us?” Robert asked. 

“You have an easy job,” Harry said. “Answer his questions, keep him happy.”

“He asks the youngest boys because he thinks you are green and will tell him something inflammatory in passing.”

“Like what?”

“Like...Mr Burbage is channelling the coin to his own pocket, or that Mr Shakespeare hosts illegal bear fights on a Sunday evening, or Mr Kempe is conspiring with the Portugese. Just praise the company and your learning and all will be well. And don’t tell him that Mr Shakespeare _actually_ hosts illegal cock fights.”

The boys laughed, but I could see that they were anxious. 

Then Harry said, “Mr Burbage says that we are a family, and we look after one another. That means everyone is protected. Do you understand?”

As if on cue, Gabriel emerged from the workroom and hurried across to Mr Burbage’s office, carrying a doublet. She waved and the boys waved back, and when she was gone, Robert nodded. 

“We understand.”

In the end, like many things that got Mr Burbage all worked up, Mr Tylney’s visit was a quiet affair. I was too full of nerves to be anxious about him, and Harry said afterwards that the boys had done a good job. And so they should; we had nothing to hide. The only minor deception was that Gabriel had already donned her Margaret costume before he arrived, so if he were to look at her, he would see what he expected to see. 

I tried to eat a little bread and cheese around the dinner hour, but I couldn’t force down more than a bite or two. Harry finished my food for me, nerves making him ravenous. 

At two of the clock, later even than the audience who had begun to fill the theatre, Mr Kempe appeared for the first time that day. Mr Burbage scolded him, but Mr Kempe only laughed. 

“Why, Dick, our dear Bill handed me an entire new scene last night. I’ve been a prisoner in my rooms, learning it.”

He almost sounded sincere, except he was wearing the clothes he had worn the day before, and he stank of wine. 

“If you’ve been learning lines, Will Kempe, I’ll go and drown myself in the river!”

Mr Kempe only laughed and swept into Gabriel’s domain to fetch his new livery. 

“My dear lady, your talents are limitless,” he said, kissing her cheek. Then he grabbed John, his apprentice, by the scruff of the neck and dragged him away.

“Come, boy. We have lines to learn, before Mr Burbage commits such a sin on our behalf!”

I shall not repeat the words that Mr Burbage shouted at his retreating back. 

Mr Kempe’s energetic presence never failed to enliven a room, and any day was made better by it. I forgot my nerves as I laughed at his mischief, until Gabriel took a gentle hold of my shoulder. 

“Come, Theo. It is time.”

I could not have asked for a greater teacher in the art of donning the female guise than one who was a woman themselves. I doubted other apprentice boys in other companies had such luck. 

I was almost ready, applying my rouge, when Mr Shakespeare appeared. He was already dressed and holding his lute, for he was to take the role of the drunkard player Borachio. He also held a piece of parchment which he thrust into my hands.

“A minor change, Theo, to the wedding scene, but there is time enough for you to learn it. Gus says you are prepared well enough.”

I nodded. My stomach had fallen, but I was not going to argue with Mr Shakespeare.

“Bill, you make the poor boy nervous,” Gabriel said, more than happy to argue for me. Mr Shakespeare just grinned. 

“I hear you are to thank for having drilled him so well,” he said, kissing her hand. “Perhaps we should get you an apprentice of your own?”

“Are you crazy in the coconut?” Gabriel asked, and they both laughed. Some joke I did not understand. “I make the clothes, I learn the lines, I dress the boys. How much time you think I have, huh?”

In reply, Mr Shakespeare only strummed his lute and bowed out of the room. He seemed less frightening when he was with Gabriel, younger and more full of mischief.

“We can learn the words,” she said, adjusting my wig. “Are you ready?”

There was a cheer and the first notes of Mr Shakespeare’s lute played out, and suddenly I was no longer nervous. 

“Yes. Come on.”

I let Gabriel lead the way.

**Author's Note:**

> A few of the people in this fic were really members of Shakespeare's company: Burbage, Kempe, Augustus Phillips and Henry Condell (who was one of the guys that put together the first Folio of Shakespeare's work). I don't know if Burbage was a grump or if Kempe was a clown 24/7 but I hope that I've done them all justice. 
> 
> Edmund Tylney really was the Master of the Revels in Shakespeare's time. The Master did have the power to pull plays or even stop them being performed at all. I don't know if he got himself involved in the companies or not, but it was fun to give Burbage something to be grumpy about ;) 
> 
> Theo is an OC but I kind of love him a little bit??


End file.
